Sometimes we will hear a claim which might be interesting but which has
no implications for what we do next.

For example,
if I claimed that the best action heroes all had the same initials then I might
get your attention. I may also provoke you to inwardly process what you know
about film and TV to see if you can work out the answer. When I tell you that
I’m talking about James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer then you may
be intrigued for a moment. But even if you agree with me that these characters
are great action heroes, this truth will have no impact on what you do next.
Unless of course you have the same initials and are inspired to try a different
career - think about it James Belham and Joey Birnie on the big screen!

However,
some claims do have implications for our future. For example, if you
are travelling to London on a busy train without a reservation you might decide
to risk sitting in a seat that has a reservation ticket on it. You survive
a couple of stations but then the train pulls into Doncaster. Lots of people
come on. One person is heading straight for you. They double check and triple
check and then they say to you, “I’m
sorry I think you’re in my seat.”
If that’s true then this claim has implications for
your future. Which on a busy train normally means, you need to get up and stand
beside the door.

Tonight we’re going to be
presented with two claims from Psalm 24.
These claims are not like my observations about famous action heroes. No, these
claims have radical implications for our future existence.

God
owns us (Vs 1-4)

God can save us
(Vs 5-10)

First of all,
God owns us (Vs 1-4)

This is the unmistakable
assertion made in verse 1. Read verse 1.

We
should expect the Bible and the world to clash on many points. They won’t
always clash. There is such a thing as common grace. But often there will often
be a clash of view point. How to use money. How to view the future. How to
raise children. How to form relationships. How to use our time. The list goes
on and on.

What we have in verse 1
of Psalm 24 is a head on crash of view points. It’s a clash of ownership.

By
far the most popular view in Western culture is that we own our lives.
Because of this it is said that we have the right to decide what we will do,
who we will do it with and when we will do. If an unborn child is too inconvenient
for us then get rid of it. Prochoice sounds so affirming. Or if we’ve
had enough of life when we get older then surely we should have the right to
end it in a medical facility? Is it not my life? And, in between, who's
the authority to stop me making the choices that I want as long as they don’t
harm anyone else? This is the mantra in our schools and in universities. It’s
the determining principle in our offices and in our factories. Sometimes it
is articulated in a sophisticated manner and sometimes it is just stated in
crude terms but regardless of the vocabulary chosen the same view point
is communicated - it’s my life, so
let me live as I choose.

And then we turn
to Psalm 24 and hear the opening line, “The earth is
the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

We
are given the reason for this in verse 2. Notice the connecting
word. Read verse 2.

The allusions
in this verse are not taken from a modern scientific text book. Indeed, they
are not even taken from an ancient scientific text book. No, they are taken
from the beautiful creation poetry of Genesis chapter 1. They
are taken from the place where we discover that it was a God of order and purpose
and beauty and generosity that made the world and who made us.

I’m
not very good at making things. I remember when I bought my first
drill I wasn’t really sure how to use it. I nearly broke my wrist after
attaching the plastic handle to the revolving chuck. Even though I don’t
have these skills I ‘m still aware of the link between creation and ownership
rights. If you make something it’s yours and you have the right to decide
how it will be used.

Why do many people
not want to believe in God? All sorts of reasons might be postulated
but often beneath the surface lies not an intellectual reason but a moral reason.

The
existence of a Creator God is a direct assault on our autonomy and we hate
it.

If God exists and he is the Creator
then he owns us and so he has the right to tell us what to do.

What
we need to get clear is exactly who the Creator is.

If he
turns out to be bad or boring then our heads should sink.
But the God of the bible is presented as the God who wants his creatures to
know and experience his love and to enjoy his created universe.

It
reveals that his boundaries are not there to stop our fun but to enhance our
joy. They enable us to enjoy both the Giver’s gifts in the right way
and the great Giver himself.

If this kind
of God is my Creator then two things follow.

First,
there will be a day of accountability.

My
flat in London. The landlady made a surprise inspection and then upped
the rent. She was allowed to do this. We should have expected her to do it
- we didn’t own the flat. We were her tenants.

Because
we don’t own our lives but they are leased to us, some on short term
and some on long term leases, we should expect a day of scrutiny from the God
who owns us. That is what the bible promises.

Second,
we should desire to be in his presence. Not a reluctant appearance but an enthusiastic
passion to want to be able to know this God and spend eternity with him.

I
think both those ideas are found in in verse 3.

Read
verse 3.

These questions flow from the
truths in verses 1 and 2.

There
is both a desire to ascend and a desire to stand.

Perhaps this was
initially a description of God’s special dwelling in the earthly tabernacle
and then the earthly temple. But for us, it’s heaven!

We
should want to get there and stay there, and
we should want to stand there.

Standing
is about surviving through judgement. The same truth is seen at the
end of Revelation chapter 6. Jesus returns and the big question
that everyone wants to know the answer to is, who can stand?

Who
can do it?

Listen to the sobering words
of verse 4.

Clean hands.
Our actions.

Pure heart. Inward motivation. Not just
the right thing but the right thing done in the right way for the right reasons.
For the glory of God.

To love the
Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. That’s
who gets there. That’s who stays there. That’s who stands in the
judgement.

What would be seen if we showed a DVD
of your life on the big screen? The special features showed your inwards thought
life.

Would it reveal you would be staying
and standing?

The
second big claim is that God can save us (Vs 5-10)

We’re
told that the people described in verse 4 will receive blessings
from the LORD and will be pronounced to be in the right with God. Look
at verse 5. Read verse 5.

If the
full stop ended after the word God then I would have no good news for you.

But
praise God it doesn’t! It ends after we read about “God
their Saviour.”

Somehow
God will make people like this. By themselves no one meets these criteria.

We
all fail the heavenly entrance exam. We may hope the pass mark will
be lowered to let some people in. It won’t. It will remain at 100% perfection,
reflecting the quality of the settlement. And yet heaven will be full.

How
can this be? God will be their Saviour.

Somehow
God will find a way to clean people up who have failed and
make them into people who have passed perfectly.

The
promise is that such people who seek God out as their Saviour in humble dependance
will both stay and stand in heaven.

How
can this be? God’s method is hinted at in verses 7 to 10.

Three
things to notice from this short paragraph.

First,
the focus shifts from a group to an individual.

Second,
notice what the individual is called. Five times he is called the King of glory.
Who is the King of glory? Verse 10, “The LORD Almighty
is the King of glory.”

Third,
notice where the king of glory has been. He has left heaven to fight an important
battle and is now returning in glorious victory.

It
is no surprise that many churches sing or use of Psalm 24 on Ascension Day.

It
is a beautiful description of the triumphant return of Jesus into heaven after
his great victory for sinners. It teaches us that Jesus is the LORD Almighty
(the Warrior God) who left the splendour of heaven to make
it possible for sinners to become saints.

That somehow
because of his glorious victory on the earth those with polluted hands and
unclean hearts would be made clean and would be granted a record of perfect
obedience.

Psalm 24 doesn’t
supply all the details of our salvation story but it fits perfectly with the
story we find in the rest of the Bible.

If you want
to know more about how this works you need to understand what is called the
doctrine of our union with Christ.

You
don’t need to know this doctrine to benefit from the reality of it let
me encourage you to find out more and more about how your faith in Jesus unites
you to him and enormous benefits that come from this.

A
book to recommend (on screen). One forever by Rory Shiner.

But
for now let me finish by applying how this truth that God is our Saviour who
makes us acceptable for heaven through union with Jesus can really help us
in the week ahead.

There will be many battles ahead.
We are to have a wartime mindset. How are we to fight sin? Three
distinctive things about our fight that flow from the truth of Psalm 24.

Without
fear

Our stay and standing in heaven
has been secured in Jesus. Press on without the fear of exclusion.

With
gratitude

Gaze at Jesus and be
freshly amazed at his victory for us. Don’t you find you can do so much
more when you are happy? There is an energy source that is not supplied by
food and drink. It is supplied from the refreshing spring of Jesus Christ.

So
choose to disbelieve the lie of comfort the world tells you and choose to do
the things that enable you to gaze on Jesus.

With
power

Colossians 1:28-29,
“Jesus is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with
all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this
end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in
me.”

We are united in Jesus. The powerful
King now works in us by his Spirit. So we can change.

So
let’s fight without fear, with gratitude and with power.

Let’s
pray.

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